Subscribe to this podcast

---

Brought to you by:

On this edition of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, we’re headed inside the 2025 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky.

We get the inside scoop on 4 new strip-till tools to help increase efficiency and maximize productivity in the fall and spring.

Plus, Beck’s Hybrids agronomists share the latest revelations about corn root structure and 7 tips for managing tar spot — an emerging fungal disease in corn in the Midwest. 

The Strip-Till Farmer podcast is brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment.

Yetter Farm Equipment has been providing farmers with solutions since 1930. Today, Yetter is your answer for finding the tools and equipment you need to face today’s production agriculture demands. The Yetter lineup includes a wide range of planter attachments for different planting conditions, several equipment options for fertilizer placement, and products that meet harvest-time challenges. Yetter delivers a return on investment and equipment that meets your needs and maximizes inputs. Visit them at yetterco.com.

Past Podcasts

Full Transcript

Great to have you with us for another edition of the Strip-Till Farmer Podcast. I'm your host, technology editor Noah Newman. Big thanks to Yetter Farm Equipment for sponsoring this podcast and making the series possible.

We're on the road in Louisville at the National Farm Machinery Show for this week's episode, and our first stop takes us to the Yetter booth where AOR manager Andy Thompson highlights a new tool to help maximize efficiency and he also shares some keywords of advice for strip-tillers before they hit the field this spring.

We're here talking about a new introduction for Yetter, the Yetter Air Assist. The Air Assist is a air cylinder kit that we are actually putting onto existing Yetter Floating Row Cleaners. So regular floating row cleaner right here, very popular, been out for a number of years, a lot of experience with this unit. But now with this air assist cylinder on here, that's allowing us to be able to adjust the row cleaners from the cab.

Now, you might be familiar with the Yetter Air Adjust System. That's the system that we've had out for a number of years, over a decade now, that is an active pneumatic system. A lot of control from the cab, a top of the line unit, a ton of performance out of that unit there. But really what we have done now with the air assist kit is a lower cost to be able to get into the style of a unit.

It's a non-active system, it's a closed loop system, but it is giving us a adjustability from the cab. So again, no electronics with this or anything, but this allows us to be able to control downforce on the row cleaner to be able to adjust the performance of it. We actually have on the monitor, again, no electronics, pretty elementary unit right here, but we have an up pressure adjust and a down pressure adjust.

What that allows us to do is to be able to put air to both sides of the cylinder. So similar to what we're doing on the air adjust, what we're doing with the air assist is we are allowing us to be able to control to some effect anyway, the downforce and also the reaction of that row cleaner. So that's what we're doing when we put air to both the top and the bottom is not only the amount of downforce, but when that adjusts, in essence, the rebound or the reaction of that row cleaner right there we have a little bit of an adjustment from the cab.

So, the idea here is a standard Yetter Floating Row Cleaner and a lower cost entrance point to be able to get into adjustability from the cab. So new introduction for Yetter for the 2025 planting season. The Yetter Air Assist, you can look it up on our website at www.yetterco.com.

When it comes to spring strip-till timing makes a big difference. And so if we can go out in advance then introducing so much air into that strip or whatever will not have the detriment as it would if we were actually going to be running that right ahead of the planter. So something like the Yetter units are strip freshener and strip freshener CC units. Those units are really designed to operate just right ahead of the planter.

And the reason why or how we can do that is we have fantastic depth control, very accurate, row to row obviously with the parallel linkage on that. But we also have the ability with that performance to be able to gauge our depth so closely, so we can go inch and three quarters or two inches deep and that allows us to be able to mix above the seed, that soil profile right there, create consistency, but not putting a ton of air into that.

So, that's really what we get into a lot with spring strip-till is understanding the tillage that we're doing, putting air into that, and then what kind of seed bed that's going to make. Because if we go out and we were to run a strip-till four inches deep, five, six inches deep, come back immediately and try to plant it, say, two inches deep, then what we run into is so much air below that and then how much tillage or voids, large soil particle size, anything like that, and then how that's going to wick the moisture out.

And so what kind of seedbed is that going to create for us, the early germination of that seed and the early plant growth of that seed? So really, we just want to make sure that our very cognizant of our depth and really what tillage we are doing relative to seeding.

Great stuff as always from Andy there, and I couldn't help but notice a giant cage with corn roots as I was walking by the Beck's Hybrids booth. We've got to see what that's all about.

Hello, my name is Steve Gauck, regional grounding manager for Beck's Hybrids in Southern Indiana. Today we're standing in front of what we call our root reveal. So for many years, we've managed corn from the ground up and a few years ago we started thinking about what does the root structure look like? How could we manage corn from the ground down?

So we took these chemical totes, we fill them with a dry zorb type of product like you use on a baseball diamond. We wrap it in plastic and plywood. We plant a seed, we water, we let the roots grow unrestricted, and then we open these boxes up, take all that dry zorb out and this is what we have.

It's been very interesting for us as we've been learning a little bit about different styles of root structure that each hybrid has. They've really come into three basic layers. So here, you'll see we're looking at a horizontal root corn, where the roots grow more this direction. We also have we call balance root, where they're going to grow sort of like this out at a slight angle, and then we have what we call vertical root system, which is going to grow more straight down.

Now, as we think about roots, we think about every time we up population, we're losing about 1% of roots a year out of corn. So we said, "Well, roots are where our nutrients are uptaken, so is there different ways we should apply nutrients?" So what we're learning here is is a horizontal root system takes that nutrients and water, these are wetter clays out of that top zone, balance roots go everywhere. Vertical root systems lean slightly towards more of a banded-type fertilizer, more reaction.

We're also noticing some stress tolerance differences. Vertical roots can go deeper for water, handle a little better stress tolerance. Now ultimately, there's not a perfect root system, and there's not necessarily that perfect root system for your farm. It's going to vary based on your fields and your soil types.

So as we keep managing each hybrid, now at Beck's, we look at all this for every hybrid, we can tell you what a root structure is, and then either manage hybrids based on your management style or move some management practices to match the hybrids that you have to maximize yields. So, as we learn more about root architecture, and we think about populations, what we notice is horizontal roots like a lower population, so they're more of your flexier-type hybrids. They need those roots to spread out. They don't like that competition.

Where a balanced route goes about everywhere in any population and a vertical root system will actually perform better in higher populations. So, there's less competition as roots go down and pull nutrients out of the ground. So, it's been a lot of a fun project. Check out beckshybrids.com. You can learn more about the roots, see more videos, the different styles, and reach out to your local representative. Be happy to talk with you about it.

Very interesting stuff there. All right, let's get back to the equipment now and check in with John Rohrs of Land Luvr to see what they've got going on.

This is our newest row unit here on the strip-till. This is a rock unit. It's designed on the premise of guys having a lot of large rocks in a field. We have a lead coulter that is torsion mounted that lifts the row unit up and lifts the shank at the same time in order to go past some large rocks and obstacles. So, we can still run the shank machine in the spring or the fall.

We also have a shear bolt on the back. If we don't get the shank up going across some rocks or we got some larger flat rocks, that that shear bolt here can be replaced then and continue on. It uses the same mid-mount closing blades we have, and it uses the standard baskets we can use. This has got a fall basket on it. We have a spring basket.

We also make this unit where we can drop the shank out and we can put a double coulter in or a strip pressure unit. At the same time, we could take the lead coulter out and put a wavy coulter in, so we could have a wavy coulter and two double wavy coulters in the back in order to get more action. If a guy wants to run the spring or if he's just a shallow type tillage work with it. But this is a rock unit that will have available for the 2025 fall crop and the 2026 spring crop.

From the rock to Redball, they also have a new unit that's available for next fall. It's called the STRT850. Let's check it out.

Hey, my name's Drew Stallings. I'm with Redball, and today I wanted to talk about our STRT850. This is a row unit right here for that machine. It is our strip-till and reservoir tillage. You can do both with the same row unit just by offsetting on the three-point hitch.

We get three seasons of use out of this machine by strip-tilling in the fall, and then you can follow up and refresh that strip in the spring. And then in the summertime, you can offset that road to reservoir tillage and trap some more moisture that the Lord has given us from rain.

This right here is shown with a Y-drop for side dressing fertilizer. We've got a rotating drum with 10 ten-inch teeth as opposed to a shank style. That helps us save on a fuel economy. And then as well, it lowers our horsepower requirement, and then the third perk of that is increased speed.

So, with the right combination of those three things, you can reach every bit of ten-plus miles an hour as long as your soil is allowing it and your tractor will handle it. We make them from anywhere four to six row up to 12 row. From there, we also have the ability to put a dry box on the top and you can do a dry fertilizer application through this hole here.

We offer many different front and rear attachments. This one here is shown with a row cleaner on the front and then on the rear we have got our hip and discs. These discs can be turned 180 degrees or like you see here. There's a few other attachments that we've got offered as well, but that's just an overview of our STRT850.

We like to think of it as a multi-tool where some folks may offer different row units for different applications. Ours can do both or three just with the same thing, just offsetting it. And also that rotating drum is very unique to us. The tooth is proprietary to us as well.

Do you work with customers at all different regions or Pacific regions?

Yep, all over the country, even into Canada and internationally. We're taking orders now for delivery early to mid-fall.

Looking for innovative solutions to maximize your farm's productivity? Look no further than Yetter Farm Equipment. We're dedicated to providing farmers with the highest quality equipment from row cleaners and closing wheels to fertilizer equipment, strip-till units and stalk-devastators. Yetter has the tools you need to optimize your farming operation. Visit yetterco.com to learn more and find the dealer near you, Y-E-T-T-E-R-C-O.com. Now back to the podcast.

Next up on our tour, Kuhn Krause. They've got a new liquid fertilizer application system. It's called Liqui-Pro.

Good afternoon. My name is Michael Bergeron. I'm product manager here at Kuhn Krause, and I'm here to talk to you today about our new system, Liqui-Pro. This is our turnkey liquid fertilizer application for our Gladiator toolbars. As you can see right over here, this is an ISOBUS-compatible variable rate controller for our Gladiator toolbars.

We offer this in two section and four section control. We also have our individual electronically flow sensing technology on this called Tattler. And so what that does for us is that allows us to be able to tell if there's any sort of blockage in any individual row, and it's fully integrated into one monitor, one display. We also upgraded our tank size from a thousand gallon to 1600 gallons on the Gladiator toolbar.

For years, we've partnered with Montag for our dry fertilizer on the Gladiator toolbar, and this really gives us a turnkey solution on our liquid fertilizer application. The customer has been asking for years and also benefits them in that it's a one-stop shop. You have everything you need from us, all the plumbing, all the suction control, the pump, all that is just coming together for them to be able to maximize their productivity. This will be coming soon this spring.

All right, well, on top of all the equipment, there were also several great educational sessions at the show. Beck's agronomist Travis Coleman had a full house for his presentation on tarspot, and if you're looking for a silver bullet, you're not going to find it, he says. But he did share seven keys to managing the fungal disease and corn. Take a listen.

Number one, we got to have a positive attitude going into 2025. Number two, plant the best genetics for your operation. Maybe 2024, that hybrid failed. How many times are we going to have the same weather pattern, the same disease cycle as we did the year before? We're going to see some additional issues, but don't go find the hybrid that maybe was bulletproof or better against tarspot. Because at the end of the day, we might be setting ourselves up for a yield ceiling.

Number three, think about reducing our planting populations in a delayed planting situation. Everyone's a little bit different when we're at a national show here, but understand what that is for your area. Number four, have a plan for fungicide. We don't have a plan A, we can't have a plan B-C, D, E, F, X, Y, Z. We got to have a plan.

And to be honest with you, one of the quickest ways to make money is to buy that product now, not in season, because when it comes in season, guess what? It's a hot commodity. They can raise the prices on it. So if you've got a little bit of additional capital, I know none of us do, it's a great opportunity to put it in there. Guess what? It's shelf life's pretty good. It stays in a jug as long as we keep it temperature controlled really well.

If we don't need it, great. I hope this presentation was a waste of your time. But at the end of the day, if we can save a little bit of money, buy that [inaudible 00:14:45]. Start thinking about our fertility needs. We don't have sulfur in there. We got to get it on. It's the simplest way to add some additional yield. Think about our micronutrient needs.

Number six, try something new. The Beck's team loves to try different things. Agronomists have projects going on across the state called learn trials. If there's something you want to work on, whether it's tarspot mitigation, whether it's sulfur applications, whether it is some two and a half gallon jug we find out here today, find your Beck's agronomist. We'd love to set up a protocol with you. We'd love to do something with you guys, because that's the best part of our job, trying something new, it makes us better agronomists.

Here's the number one. This is the, again, get your phone now, scribble it down. What's that picture? It's a farmer in his field. Think the Total Acre guys, David Hula, Randy Gowdy, say the best solution for high yields is seeing your shadow in the field. So, let's think about that. Think about it a little bit more.

For example, if we were to plant corn in my house on 5/20, it would be burned, 5/20. By the power of farm server, if I'm going to plan on one tid, it is got 2,700 GDUs, I'm going to know that we're at R-6 around October 1st, tid mark. So here's the thing you guys tell me, how many applications do you make in the field? How many times do you seed that field just through applications?

Six times, right? Maybe planting, spraying, side-dressing, spraying, fungicide, [inaudible 00:16:49] boost? Six times, so I'm going to give you six credits for how many times you seed the field. How many times do you drive by it through the growing season? Don't tell me once a day. I know you're lying.

Well, yeah, so at your house you can see it a lot more, so there's about 110 days here between the two dates, right? I'm going to give you credit for 20, what's that math?

20 minus 150. It's 90. What's 90 divided by 110. 80, 90% of that crop life is unattended, unmanaged, 80 to 90%. If you're going to the casino tonight, those are pretty good odds. If you're raising high yielding corn, are those very good odds that you don't know what's going on? Think about how much money you guys spend putting out a crop. Can you afford to have 80 to 90% of your time, money going backwards, losing any money? Something to think about that.

Probably my biggest thing is in a low commodity price year it's scouting has the highest rewards. Hire a guy from high school, hire a gal from high school, find someone in FFA. Find an independent crop consultant that provides scouting and get them to scout your fields. The best part about someone that has nothing to do with ag is they ask a heck of a lot of questions.

I got three-year-old at home. She asks me every day a thousand questions. You guys, us, we often over think some of the little stuff. The opportunity with some of these guys is a great one. We know we need new people in ag, new blood in ag. It's a great opportunity there.

And that'll wrap things up for this edition of the Strip-Till Farmer Podcast. Thanks for joining us on our tour of the National Farm Machinery Show. We'll have much more from everything we saw at the show on striptillfarmer.com.

Big thanks to Yetter Farm Equipment for sponsoring the podcast and making all these episodes possible. You can check out some of our older episodes on striptillfarmer.com as well. All right, thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next time in the Strip-Till Farmer Podcast. Have a great day.